Understanding Job Titles in Technical Communication

The range of tasks in technical communication is constantly growing, expanding, and becoming more specialized. Anyone interested in gaining a deeper insight into the world of technical communication should visit the website of the Professional Association for Technical Communication (tekom ) and, in particular, learn about the job description and core competencies of a “technical writer.”

Although the term “technical writer” (hereinafter referred to as “TW”) has become widely established for the core field of technical documentation, job postings and job applications often still use a variety of other terms to refer to TWs, as well as to the highly specialized professions in other fields that work alongside them.

Job titles can sometimes give an idea of the skills and duties involved, but sometimes they do not. In addition, some titles are confused, and English and German terms are often mixed together.

This raises questions such as: Who exactly are we looking for in this job posting? What skills does someone who proactively applies for a specific position bring to the table? What area of work does this title refer to? What does the term “certified” actually mean? How should we word the job posting? This article aims to provide a little more clarity.

Assistance

What do job titles like “Technical Communication Specialist,” “Technical Documentation Specialist,” or “Technical Communication Assistant” actually entail?

The title“State-Certified Technical Communication Assistant”can be earned within two years after completing ninth grade, provided the student has a high school diploma. Graduates are encouraged to pursue further education, such as a college degree or other training and continuing education programs. In a technical editorial department, assistants can then gradually transition into the role of a Technical Redactor (TR) over time through professional internships or as trainees. This means that the assistant position is a first step into the professional world. Someone with this qualification can, under supervision, perform support tasks for the staff and managers in an editorial department.

Graphics World

Graphic design specialists are involved in the design and visualization of content; they create illustrations and are proficient in using relevant graphic design software. The terms “media” and “design” as in “media designer,” the terms “illustration” or “illustrator,” as well as “information designer,” all refer to the field of graphic design. Graphic designers are in demand across many industries, including, of course, technical communication. Graphic design can be pursued through college programs as well as vocational training and continuing education.

An information designer works with other members of the editorial team to visualize previously researched—that is, existing—content from the technical documentation for various output formats. The primary focus is on presenting a finished product, visualizing operating procedures, and conveying safety information. These three areas represent the most important types of information in technical documentation (describing the product, providing operating instructions, and warning of hazards). An information designer (or illustrator) in technical documentation therefore does not construct or design a product, but rather the visual information related to a product.

The job title “technical draftsman” is now less commonly used because this field has become highly specialized. CAD programs (computer-aided design and drafting software capable of 3D modeling) are used for technical drawings. CAD software is used by both design engineers, who create their design drawings in the CAD program, and illustrators, who create images from the CAD data. Depending on the job description, a person may be expected to work as a design engineer and also calculate and create the CAD data on the side, or to create images from CAD data that has already been created.

Information designers and graphic designers are in demand in many fields; for example, job postings with the title “Information Designer” are common in the worlds of advertising, marketing, and online platforms. In these fields, too, the focus is on visualizing existing information and content.

Here is a summary of the terms mentioned:

• Media Designer for Technical Documentation (for Digital and Print)
• Illustrator for Technical Documentation
• Information Designer for Technical Documentation

Distinction from other areas

The word “design” appears in other contexts in our everyday language, which can lead to misunderstandings. In graphic design, visualizations are created, but no product is invented or documentation concept developed. Product design is part of the job description of a “product designer,” for example, in furniture design.

Information design is sometimes mistakenly referred to as information architecture. However, information architecture refers to a documentation concept, which falls under the scope of TR.

The term “information architecture” is sometimes used by mistake when what is actually meant is IT infrastructure or IT architecture. Of course, IT infrastructure or IT architecture can only be designed and implemented by someone with an IT background.

World of Design

Design engineers (of a product, a device, or a machine) require a foundation in engineering disciplines (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and other fields). Design engineers naturally possess the deepest and most comprehensive knowledge of the product they design and verify the technical and factual accuracy of product documentation. No other party involved in technical communication can match the depth of expertise possessed by a design engineer. However, writing instructions is a specialized field in its own right—namely, that of the Technical Writer (TW). Product testing and product management also fall under related fields and are not exclusively the domain of design engineering.

It has proven useful to take a close look at what expertise is required: Experience as a design engineer, or the technical understanding needed to comprehend the design engineer’s work and describe the operating procedures?

So if you read in a job description that they’re looking for someone to design, test, document, and manage a product, you know they’re looking for someone with four different skill sets—probably because an employee who had to handle all four of those tasks on their own has left.

The IT World

In the IT world, the engineers are the software developers who design, program, test, and maintain software products.

When it comes to the job title “Software Developer,” everyone knows what it entails, and the English term “Software Developer” is also widely recognized. Less familiar are the synonyms “Information Developer” and “IT Developer.” Qualifications for the profession can be obtained through a degree in computer science or through training as an IT specialist for application development. Even though software developers create internal documentation for developers, the user documentation for the software is written by TR.

So it’s worth taking a close look at what the job postings say: Is the job about developing software, which requires programming skills? Or is it about writing a software manual?

Currently, there are already methods for automatically generating content for software documentation from the texts, comments, and notes that a software developer creates during the software development process.

Ideally, software developers and technical writers should understand and support one another, but neither can take over the other’s work because their skill sets are too different.

System Architecture, IT Infrastructure

The skill set of an IT engineer includes disciplines such as computer engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. In the field of technical communication, IT engineers are needed for IT system architectures; they design, build, and maintain the IT infrastructure and systems used by those involved in technical communication.

When looking at job titles in technical communication that include the word “system,” take a closer look to determine whether the system is to be programmed and maintained, or whether it is to be properly loaded and operated by a technical representative.

TR World

Universities offer bachelor’s or master’s degrees in technical writing. The title “Technical Writer” (tekom-certified) may be used by anyone who has completed a certification exam administered by tekom following continuing education or professional development. The qualification profile for a bachelor’s or master’s degree varies depending on the university’s curriculum. The qualification profile of the tekom Competency Framework is currently considered the industry standard.

Editor

The term “technical writer” includes the word “writer,” which leads some people to think of the field of journalism. While there are indeed journalists who specialize in technology, the content, methods, principles, and goals of journalism are fundamentally different from those of a technical writer. So if you’re looking for someone to write newspaper articles, you’ll need a journalist.

Editor, Writer, Author

If you see the term “Redaktor,” it is not a typo, but a variant in Swiss German. Technical editors or “Technischer Redaktor” are referred to as TR.

In English translations of the term “TR,” the terms “technical editor” and “technical writer” are the most common, but “technical communicator” and “technical author” are also increasingly used; they all refer to the core responsibilities of the TR profession.

UX Writing, UX Writer

As part of their extensive professional training, every technical writer learns to write instructions that are tailored to the target audience, engaging, and easy to understand, while incorporating insights from usability testing, user experience, and user feedback (UX) to structure, formulate, and design the documentation accordingly.

In short, being a TR also involves understanding UX design and applying UX principles when creating information products; in other words, a TR is also a UX writer. Conversely, however, a UX writer (without additional TR knowledge) is by no means a TR.

Experts, specialists, managers, directors?

When it comes to jobs that can only be performed by a technical writer with extensive experience and a specific area of expertise, job titles in German or English are very popular, such as “Product Documentation Expert,” “Technical Communication Specialist,” or “Technical Communication Management Expert.”

Sometimes this refers to a “Technical Documentation Editor,” but whether or not a company has a dedicated editorial department varies depending on its structure; therefore, the job description is worded to convey professional experience and a high level of detailed knowledge of the latest technologies and trends.

It is misleading that the word “Leiter” is sometimes simply translated as “manager.” This overlooks the fact that, for example, translation management or document management are often only sub-tasks of a TR and have very little to do with managerial functions.

Project Management, Technical Communication, Agile Project Management

One of the core responsibilities of a TR is to organize their own work as well as to manage processes related to documentation projects, in collaboration and communication with many other stakeholders from other departments. So if the term “management” appears in a job description or job posting, you need to look more closely to see whether processes or methods are required in addition to the TR’s core competencies.

Whenever the terms “agile working” or “agile project management” come up, it is essential to understand and master the roles, processes, and practices involved in agile project management.

Information architects who manage intelligent information—what is that?

The terms “information architect” and “intelligent information” are relatively new.

What used to be referred to as “documentation planning, editorial process, and documentation design” is now more commonly called “information architecture.” This is because the planning work, the workflows, and the support provided by systems have become so complex that it is necessary to take multiple levels into account.

To put it simply: In the past, a basic two-dimensional overview sketch was enough to show how instructions were created, reviewed, and approved.

Today, so to speak, we need “blueprints for a multi-story building” in order to describe the various levels.

For this reason, a TR who plans the documentation, processes, and implementation in line with current requirements and ensures proper implementation is also referred to as an “information architect.” To do this, a TR needs several years of practical experience and must be up to date on the latest systems. Someone who is just starting out in the profession will not yet be able to perform the duties of an information architect.

In the past, information was stored in more or less structured form, either in written analog or digital format. Since the introduction of content management systems and other technical communication systems, information about information and related to information has also been required in a systematic and standardized manner. This is what is known as metadata.

Information that is structured and tagged with metadata can then also be integrated with other automated technologies, such as term and translation databases, PIM, semantic networks, and many more. When information is tagged with metadata—or, to put it more elegantly, “enriched”—it is referred to as “intelligent information”:

That doesn’t mean that the information itself possesses self-awareness or intelligence, like a dog, for example. A dog is more intelligent. It means that each piece of information has, so to speak, a label attached to it that contains additional information about the information itself. The label is automatically read when one system is connected to another.

So when you read about an information architect who “manages” information, it simply means that you’re dealing with a TR who knows how to properly populate a content management system, how information flows between the content management system and other systems, what structural and planning work is required beforehand, and what quality controls are necessary.

Pay attention to whether terms such as “system integration” appear in addition to “information architect.” If so, this clearly refers to the work of IT system integration, which is performed by an IT specialist and not by the TR; see IT-Welt.

List of the numerous terms for TR mentioned in the text:

• Technical writer
• Technical Writer
• Technology Editor
• Technical Writer
• Technical Writer
• Technical Editor
• Product Documentation Editor
• Technical Product Documentation Specialist
• Technical Communication Specialist
• Technical Documentation Specialist
• Technical Documentation Specialist
• Technical Documentation Specialist
• Documentation Manager
• Document Management
• Technical Product Documentation
• Technical Information Management Specialist
• UX Writer
• Information Architect
• Information Architect
• Intelligent Information Management

Practice makes perfect

A common saying in technical communication is that there are no stupid questions, and that asking questions is one of the fundamental tasks of a technical writer. Do you have any questions on this topic? Welcome to the world of technical communication! Please send us your questions, share your suggestions, and feel free to send us any other terms for “technical writer” that you’ve come across: We look forward to hearing from you!